Ice cold Pepsi

I had a Pepsi in place of my usual tea or coffee this morning. I was running late, and it was sitting there in my fridge because every time people come to my house they seem to leave pop behind. I rarely, if ever, drink the stuff unless it's in a mixed drink. I also don't drink beer, so most of the pop was donated by nice people who know I will not be having a cold beer with them, so they support my whiskey habit and bring coke, pepsi, 7-up or other caffeinated beverages for me. I have enough pop to keep me going for months, easily.
There is one exception to my, "rarely, if ever" pop drinking. That would be branding day. After a day of tasting disinfectant (I cut calves, and will explain this and other branding tasks in the near future) and standing in the sun there is nothing, absolutely nothing, better than a Pepsi or mt. dew pulled from the depths of an icy cooler. My aunt is the best and keeps them right at that stage where there's almost a little slush in them.
It's amazing, and just washes all the grime, dirt, blood (yes, there's blood) and smoke taste right out of your mouth. Ah.. It's even better if the disinfectant used was lysol. If you've ever cut calves and had this concoction on your hands or in your mouth all day you know what I mean!
As I was sipping on my cool Pepsi this morning it brought all those memories back. Next week is the first branding of the season for my family and I can't wait to ditch the office for a day of working outside with my family!
My disclaimer on this post is that I am only referring to hot, sunny branding days and not the cold, wet, miserable ones. On those days the only beverages consumed are the hot variety out of a thermos!